Processes - Judgment on severed head confirmed in court by BGH
It is a bizarre case in which the Federal Court of Justice (BGH) has now confirmed the judgment of the lower court: A man had placed a human head in front of a court building in Bonn in the summer of 2022. In January, the district court there sentenced the then 39-year-old to one and a half years in prison without parole for disturbing the peace of the dead.
The BGH has now rejected the appeals of the defendant and the public prosecutor's office. Ekkehard Appl, Chairman of the Second Criminal Senate, said at the sentencing in Karlsruhe: "The case is now closed and the deceased can rest in peace." (Ref. 2 StR 270/23)
According to the findings of the regional court, the man had placed the head of his friend, who had died of tuberculosis, in front of the court in June 2022. Both were homeless. The court was unable to determine with certainty whether the man had also cut off the head beforehand. During the trial, the accused remained silent about the allegations. His motivation remained unclear.
Shock among passers-by
Witnesses at the trial before the district court were shocked by the sight that presented itself to them. One woman reported that her son had shouted: "Mom, mom, there's a head lying there." She herself had initially thought it was a macabre joke.
At the hearing before the BGH, the man's defense lawyer criticized the district court's legal assessment in particular. She did not consider the offense of disturbing the peace of the dead to be fulfilled. Therefore, her client should have been acquitted. The man himself did not come to Karlsruhe. The representative of the federal prosecution criticized, among other things, that the district court had drawn conclusions from the circumstantial evidence that were not comprehensible.
However, the senate decided otherwise. Judge Appl pointed out during the announcement that the finding of guilt had been free of legal error. The court also made it clear why it could not establish beyond doubt who had severed the head. The verdict is therefore legally binding.
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The defendant, residing in North Rhine-Westphalia, was initially tried in a district court in Bonn. The court proceedings were conducted in accordance with German law. Despite the appeals submitted by the defendant and the public prosecutor's office in Bonn, the Federal Court of Justice (BGH) in Karlsruhe upheld the original judgment.
The BGH, the highest judicial authority in Germany dealing with criminal matters, ruled that the man's actions had disturbed the peace of the deceased, thereby committing a criminal offense. This detached judgment from the initial case has now become a significant precedent in German criminal law.
The man's motivations for engaging in such criminality remain unknown, adding an enigmatic layer to the case. Despite the defense lawyer's assertions that the district court's legal assessment was inaccurate, the Federal Court of Justice stood firm in its judgment.
It should be noted that the BGH's headquarters are located in Karlsruhe, while the public prosecutor's office responsible for this case is based in Bonn, which is also the location of the Federal Constitutional Court and the Court of Justice of the European Union.
The unique nature of the case prompted shock and confusion among the general public, further emphasizing the importance of upholding the rule of law. This high-profile case serves as a reminder of the critical role the justice system plays in maintaining societal order and upholding the values of justice in Germany.
In Germany, criminal proceedings are governed by a set of judicial principles, ensuring that justice is administered fairly and impartially, even in the face of unusual or disturbing cases like this one.
Source: www.stern.de
